First of all, thank you to those who came along on Tuesday to discuss and plan the campaign against SCC threats to fire and rescue services in Spelthorne.

Although this is primarily about the threats to Spelthorne fire service, SCC are planning cuts and closures across Surrey.

Below I have copied extracts from a press release, an email from the Fire Brigades Union, a picture from the meeting and a flyer and poster produced by local firefighters. Please use these to spread the word. If you need printed ones please email me your address and we will get some to you for leafletting your street, workplace etc. and putting up in GP surgeries etc.

We are calling for a major lobby of Spelthorne Council at Knowle Green on 23rd February at 6.30pm.

There is also a meeting of Spelthorne Council next Thursday evening where there is a question tabled on these cuts. Please try to go along and ask questions.

Speak to your local councillors. Ask why Spelthorne has been targetted. Ask why there is to be no public meeting.

SOSiS Press ReleasePhoto: Some of the audience at Tuesday's meeting.

This is a betrayal of the people of Spelthorne!

Such was the feeling of the 40+ people gathered in the Staines Hub on Tuesday evening. They had come to hear from Save Our Services in Surrey and from local firefighters about the new proposals to cut Spelthorne's fire safety cover even further than previously threatened.

One of the local Spelthorne firefighters made it clear why they were there: 'I am not here because I fear for my job, nor because I live locally and fear the loss of fire cover for my family. I live in Guildford where they have 4 fire appliances. I have been a firefighter here for nearly 20 years. I am here today because I believe these proposals are wrong, they will grossly disadvantage Spelthorne residents and they are not based on a proper assessment of the risks.'

According to the Surrey firefighters:

The Staines fire engine is the busiest engine in the whole of Surrey.Staines firefighters alone have saved the lives of 5 people this year.Spelthorne has the:Worst record of fire deaths in Surrey.Highest cincentration of tower blocks.The busiest roads and most congested bridges connecting to the rest of Surrey.Some of the worst pockets of deprivation.The most dangerous stretch of river.The highest concentration of vulnerable adults who cannot self-rescue.The busiest airport in Europe.A new waste incinerator being built and;It borders the West London Oil Storage Depot (bigger than Bunsfield).

Surrey's consultation website says nothing about all this. It has no data on where fire deaths occur, where people have been rescued or where residential fires have occured. SCC are refusing to hold a public meeting this time around.

The argument being put forward is that they need to save money. Save Our Services in Surrey do not accept the need for cuts in public services.

Paul Couchman said: 'the wealth of the richest 1% of the population has grown whilst the rest of us suffer wage cuts, unstable employment conditions and austerity. This government, and their representatives on local councils, have made cut after cut in public services - in health, education and social care amongst others. People will not take it any more. The trade unions, alongside residents associations and community groups, need to draw a line in the sand and say NO MORE CUTS.If the Tories in Spelthorne borough and in Surrey County Council get away with axing our fire service here in Spelthorne then they will come back for more, and more... until there are no publicly owned and democratically run public services left. We have no choice but to fight.'

The fact that Spelthorne has once again been targetted for deeper cuts than the rest of Surrey was not lost on the audience. Again, local firefighters explained: 'under the current proposals Spelthorne will only have one of the 35 Surrey appliances. The average for each of the eleven boroughs will be three. To put it another way, Spelthorne residents will be paying for fire cover across Surrey when they will only have a single engine. The generally less well-off borough subsidising the more wealthy areas yet again'.

The meeting pledged to build the opposition to the proposed immediate closure of Staines station and to campaign vigorously for Spelthorne to continue to have two full-time appliances.

It was decided to organise a major lobby of the Spelthorne Council meeting in Knowle Green on 23 February at 6.30pm to make the strength of feeling known. SOSIS and the FBU, along with local firefighters, other trade unions and local residents associations will be building for this over the next two months, as well as promoting the petition on the SCC website and encouraging people to individually lobby their local councillors.Anyone who would like to help distribute flyers or get involved with SOSIS should visit us at www.sosis.org.uk or email Paul at saveourservicessurrey@gmail.com.

Email from Richard Jones of the Fire Brigades Union:

many thanks for arranging lasts night’s meeting. I thought it went very well - we are very pleased that there are so many passionate activists and campaigners willing to help save Staines.

I’m very pushed for time right now, so this will be the first of several emails I will send you as and when I get the chance, showing information that may help with the campaign. Please forward this email on to the SOSIS group.

Here’s the link to the BBC Radio 5 Live program which is well worth listening to as the issue of Lag time discussed here is vitally important in the Spelthorne case;

It has just been announced that Surrey County Council now plan to renege on their original commitments (which arose from the previous consultation and hard-fought campaign) and they now want to close the Staines fire station before any new station is built (leaving just the Sunbury station covering Spelthorne). They have also said they intend NOT to include a second on-call appliance at the new station - as promised. See this article in the Surrey Advertiser.

This is a clear betrayal of trust. It is the understanding of SOSiS that Spelthorne Council only agreed to sell the land to SCC for the new station on the understanding that there would be two appliances based there (albeit one would be on-call only). SOSiS have always said that there needs to be two fire stations in Spelthorne - each equipped with a full crew, an appliance and fire and flood rescue apparatus. 95% of respondents to the council's own consultation agreed with us and over 3,000 people signed our petition. Many of you marched with us all the way from Sunbury Cross to Ashford Hospital in defence of our fire services.

Given the urgency of this news and the fact that they have not called any public meetings - just an online consultation (which you can input into following the link below) we are calling an emergency SOSiS meeting for:

Also - SOSiS are preparing for a titanic wave of cuts and privatisation planned in our NHS. We have agreed to support Health Campaigns Together (a national network bringing together all the various NHS campaign groups and anti-cuts groups) and to build for the national demonstration to defend the NHS on 4th March next year. Please put this date in your diary and we will send out more info as it becomes available. If you are in a trade union, please raise the attached letter with your union branch or region and ask them to support.